Predictive Analytics for HR

Monday Vibe: 7 October 2019.

Human Resource profession has evolved into seeing the HR practitioners amongst the top managers in an organization. However, most HR practitioners have not made it to the Strategic Committee Meetings due to so many reasons, one of them being the inability to predict the future. Financial, Marketing, Sales, Revenue and Operational Managers book their spaces with the CEOs because it is believed that they have information about the future. They can do forecast with 0.8 chances of success. The time is ripe for HR professionals to step up and book a permanent space in such meetings to take the organizations to new hearts.

HR Office has lots of data. The whole organizational data is disposable to HR. "If you do not know where such information belongs, take it to HR". Since time immemorial up-to-date, HR Department occupants have played the role of enumerator and archive persons, i.e. data collection & keeping. The swift step is now to turn data into intelligent information that is beneficial to the organization hence Predictive Analytics for Human Resources.

HR analytics is relatively new to human talent measurement that involves the study of variables patterns to understand the phenomenon in different situations. Predictive analytics advise the investors on where to make bets & the forward step for the future.

Illustration of where Predictive Analytics is vital:

1. A company with employee information about marital status, sex, age and dependents, can forecast on medical cost-maternity cost, future employment, turnover, maternity leave days, paternity leave days to be utilized in the coming years concerning the previous information. Amazingly, most of don't know why we give /collect such information. I didn't know the relevance of such data until I started reason analytically & strategically. 
2. An organization that tracks employees’ job website visits should use the data not to fire the employees but to analyze the differentiating factors between your company and company B (where the employee is applying to) that triggers employees need to search for greener pastures. The HR is, therefore, able to know the reasons why employees will leave in future and strategically curb the same.

I know there is a lot of excitement surrounding analytics with many people asking the questions "Is it for HR Professionals or Statisticians", "Where do I commence?" and "What programs, equipment is available?". My answer is, "It is for everyone who wants to live in the future. Where to start depends on where you are, where you want to be, how uncertain the future is, and your strategy to hit the jackpot."

Are you good with Mathematics/Statistics/Quantitative Analysis/Computer Programming? If you are not, do not worry because predictive analytics commence with logical problems & questions, metrics/statistics (what to measure) come later. Example, need for retention drives a company to monitor job websites visited by its employees to get the differentiating factors that might lead to the employee exit.

I firmly believe that Predictive Analytics is the key to a permanent seat at Strategic Meeting Committees for Human Resource Managers. 

Article by: Nelson Ogudha (TheManagement) | IHRM 010061 | HR Analytics Enthusiast | Payroll & HR Administrator |

Connect with me on 0706 006 000 | 0751 442 224 | [email protected] for more exciting insights & discussions